I Got a "Time Out"

My 35th birthday was a fabulous day from beginning to end. I got up and went to have a pedicure. I always love it when my toes are freshly painted! Then my close friend Stacey and I went to the Sacramento temple to do a temple session. We ate my favorite lemon muffins from Marie Callender's on the way there. It was so fun to visit with Stacey on our drive to the temple. I think we both enjoyed the peace and beauty of the temple. I love to look at the mural painted in the telestial room. It's not often that we get away from our kids to go to the temple so this was a real blessing for us. I know how important it is to renew my temple covenants. It helps me to keep an eternal perspective and remember why I am here. After our temple session, we went to one of my favorite restaurants that we don't have in Modesto - The Cheesecake Factory. Stacey treated me to lunch and they even gave me a birthday sundae. I told them they didn't have to sing to me, but I did get to blow out the candle!

Then we went to check into our hotel in Sacramento. We met 13 other girls and women there for a "time out." Time Out for Women is actually a conference given by Deseret Books. I was able to attend two other Time Out for Women conferences before this one. I was really excited when I learned that the this year's Sacramento conference would be held on my birthday. I knew I had to make a party of it and invite everyone I know. These conferences are so uplifting and motivating. It's like a mini EFY for moms. The conference began Friday night with speaker James Ferrell (the author of a favorite book of mine, The Peacegiver). The theme of his talk was "Up is down and down is up, as long as down is before the Lord." He talked a lot about avoiding pride and humbling ourselves before the Lord. The musical performances on Friday evening were done by Cherie Call. Her music is beautiful and she shares how she gets the ideas for her songs. I would highly recommend her work. One thing she shared that I really like was "Audrey Hepburn's Beauty Tips" which are listed below.

* For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

*For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

*For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

*For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.

*For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

*People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

*Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

The pictures below were taken on Friday night. Amber, Sharece, Kim, and Marcie Emily, Debbie, and Lori Me, Stacey, and Regina

Tanda, Lori, and Ann

My mom and sister-in-law, Chareen

The whole group
My birthday ended with a little party back at the hotel. I got two of my very favorite desserts - cheesecake and Texas sheetcake. I got some to open some presents. I felt very spoiled, but also very grateful. I feel so blessed to have such special friends and family.

The Time Out for Women conference continued on Saturday. The music was performed by Kenneth Cope. I remember him doing the music when I attended EFY. When I was 14 years old, the theme was "Win the Race" and he came out with the song "Never a Better Hero." This song talks about how Christ is our hero and it is still a favorite of mine after all these years. Mary Ellen Edmunds was the first speaker of the day. She is such a funny lady and had the entire audience cracking up throughout her entire talk. She spoke about us having more patience and love with one another. She reminded us how much patience and love the Lord has for us. I like a question that another speaker, Carolyn Rasmus, asked us. The question is, "What are you NOT doing that prevents the Spirit of the Lord from being with you?" Of course, she reminded us that prayer and scripture study are essential if we want the Spirit of the Lord with us. Jason Wright spoke the atonement. He stated that many of us understand and accept the atonement for its redeeming power, but we fail to use the atonement's power to strengthen and enable us. He reminded us that we are not asked to do everything on our own. The Lord will help us carry our burdens if we only ask. He also spoke about coming to know the Savior as a person and not just someone we read about in the scriptures. Sharon Larsen ended the conference with a talk entitled, "Make Room for Joy." "A Joyful Life" was actually the theme of the entire conference. I came to understand how much peace and joy are related to each other. Sometimes I feel I have so little peace in my life, with a house full of kids, crazy schedules, and so many demands that are put upon me. I am glad I had a "time out" from all of that so that I could set some personal goals. My first goal is to develop a more personal relationship with the Savior. I want to know Him better and more fully partake of His atonement. I want to take time to feed myself spiritually. I want to be more loving, more patient, and less quick to judge. One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Nephi 2:25, "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy." We were meant to have joy in this life. The entire conference can be summed up in a line from the church song Learn of Me, "The peace I feel, my joy in sacred things, surpasses all the world could ever bring." I left the conference feeling like I was on cloud 9. I told Lloyd I have really had a change of heart and have no desire to do evil. Unfortunately, I know this feeling will not last forever. I know I will become discouraged again. I will sin again. I will forget to rely and trust in my Savior. I want to make the time to nourish and feed my Spirit. It's hard to find this time at this stage in my life, but I understand how vital it is. I learned from the conference that the Lord wants us to succeed. We were not sent here to fail. With the Lord, all things are possible.